Entre glosas y censuras. Recepción y circulación del Corpus Iuris Civilis en la nueva España (siglos XVI y XVII)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to show the reception and circulation of the Corpus Iuris Civilis the New Spain (Mexico) during the XVI and XVII centuries. It analyzes the importance of the Roman law as a part of the phenomenon of legal reception in the Spanish America. It studies the readings, comments and censorships of the different editions of these books, which were introduced extensively since the first decades of the American conquest. In the recent years, the Latin American historiography has analyzed the reception of the ius commune in the Spanish colonies, but it appears to give more priority to other legal sources as laws and customs. As a result of this point of view, it has been forgotten the knowledge contained in the legal books. In this research, my main sources are the books preserved in the Mexican National Library. The choice of the materials is due to it preserves the prints of some of the major libraries during this period (university, seminars and religious colleges). In order to achieve this objective, I analyze my period according to the Robert Darnton’s communication circuit. This methodological model focuses on the role of authors, publishers, printers, distributors and readers in the process of production, distribution and consumption of the books.